I'm not trying to start an argument or anything, but what was the story around your neck of the woods when the sonics left for Okc? The impression i got just from the news around here is that the Sonics weren't getting much support in Seattle. Just kind of curious as to what you guys think.

In a nutshell and in order of blame for the Sonics leaving town is a) NBA's business plan sucks i.e. David Stern sucks b) local politicans suck c) Howard Schulz sucks and d) Clay Bennett sucks and is a liar (but I can't blame him).

Brett, the reason they weren't getting any support was because Uncle Clay Clay basically pulled a "Major League" move and got rid of all the good players on the team and tried to completely rebuild right in the middle of leaving. He made no effort what so ever to keep fans in the seats when we were going through this.

I will admit though, I really lost interest in the Sonics after Kemp and GP left. Some of my favorite memories were of the early 90's Sonics. Hell, I even played horse with GP and Kemp when I was like 10 or 11. I also had a free throw shooting contest with a bunch of kids to see who got an autographed pair of Shawn Kemp size 15.5 Nike Force's. Me and my cousin were the last 2 so we each ended up with a shoe. Guys like Derrik Mckey, Detlef, Ricky Pierce(the big paper daddy), Tom chambers, Michael Cage, Eddie Johnson, Gerald "I barely make enough to buy Patio furniture and big smooth were all in that late 80's early 90's era and were awesome.

I agree with Ryan, the NBA just sucks balls now. To me it is boring as hell to watch. With all the idiots covered with tattoo's and the "thug" persona I am not sure it appeals to the average family. There are a few super stars in the league but besides Lebron being a freak of nature and watching the occasional Posterized Dunk I could give to  about the NBA and I really don't care if they come back. Screw Stern. I would rather everybody become fans of the NW college teams. Specifically the Huskies but with Seattle U coming up, the somewhat established WSU and Gonzaga we have some great basketball in the NW. The greater Seattle is also probably the best producer of basketball talent in the country besides LA, NY and Chicago.

Left for Okc? Dood, they were stolen! Fuggin ripped outta Seattle on a buddy-buddy deal. Of course the news in Okc was that there was no local support for the Sonics. Yes, the county, city and state did not take action to stop this fiasco from happening and they took the 45 million dollar settlement. David Stern is the asshat that pulled it off! He didn't want Seattle to have a team anymore. He used the city as an example to what will happen to any team in any city if you don't have a top notch venue for the NBA to play in. Clay Bennett and David Stern give each other daily reacharounds. Another major asshat in this fiasco is Howard Schultz (StarBucks), he sold the Sonics to a out-of-town buyer that had no intentions keeping the team in place. Forget about a Seattle Sonics replacement team, the NBA is floundering and hopefully Stern will go down with it.

I don't understand what is so bad about Key Arena, I know everyone complained about it but after having Sonics season tickets for 10 years I don't know what the complaint was, seems ridiculous that the city/people were expected to cough up the money to have it upgraded.

I have been to a lot of NBA arenas, it wasn't in the top 10 but it wasn't enough to force out a horrible team.

The NBA looks like a mainstay if yer in LA, Cleveland, Boston.. maybe Orlando, Dallas, Denver.

But there is minimal interest in most of the other cities because they basically have no chance to win a NBA title. Plus, the refs usually determine the outcome of the game by either blowing the whistle when there is no foul or swallowing the whistle when there is a foul.

Yep, the Key was the smallest most outdated NBA venue. So Stern punished Seattle for not forkin out millions to appease the NBA.

I live in Sacramento and even though the Kings are not a good team and have no chance at the championship in the near future.. the fans are fairly loyal.

I mean no disrespect at all, Elizabeth, and I know you're a fellow Lakers fan, but I totally disagree. There are almost more Lakers fans than Kings fans in Arco when Kobe & Co. come to town and there are certainly more people walking around Sacramento with Kobe jerseys than Kings jerseys. Almost all of the people I know who were the hardest core Kings fans in the early 2000's don't even follow the team anymore. One guy I know bought season tickets from '99-04 flat out denies that he was ever a Kings fan (in fact he now claims to be a huge Lakers fan. Drives me insane.) I have very little respect for Kings fans in terms of their love for the game and for their team.

Growing up in the Seattle area in the 70's and 80's, I have to say Seattle is the most fair weather sports town there is (not including Los Angeles). Sonics/Seahawks/Mariners/Huskies/Cougars it doesn't matter - the non vested, latte drinking, communist voting, hybrid driving, fans are band wagon riders. Granted there are true fans that stick by their teams through thick and thin (I am a Coug and always will be a Coug fan), most of the Seattle population could care less unless a Seattle team is in the news doing well. The general population does not have a clue. If the Sonics would have gone to the public asking for a new arena after winning a championship, this would not be an issue.

Dave, I don't know if there was much to cheer about during the 70's & 80's in Seattle. I think the problem wasn't the fans caring it was Schultz selling to a group that was ready to move it. Didn't the Seattle fans give the Mariners and Hawks new stadiums? Both of which never produced a championship and at the time had never been.

No, the Seahawks have not won a Super bowl but they have been there. They are known to have the 12th man which can give their team a serious home field advantage. The last 10 years have been great football. The problem is not the season ticket holders - it is the other 2 million King County residents that don't care unless they win the big game.

Same is true for the Mariners. They have had a few record breaking winning seasons, but the majority of the Seattlites don't care. Fact is, Seattle is not a sports town compared to NY, Boston, Green Bay, Dallas, Pittsburg, etc. Seattle has a lot of great qualities, but it is not a sports town. Seattle has great sports fans, just not enough.

Mark - Honestly.. isn't that the case at quite a few different arenas throughout the country? There always seems to be a large amount of Lakers fans, regardless of the location. I agree though, there are definitely a TON of Lakers fans in Sacramento. I know quite a few around here, but most are transplants from Southern California. (Just like us)

The people at my work (I work for a large non-profit downtown) are Kings fanatics. I think the Kings love is still pretty heavy around here. No, it's not as it was back in the middle of the Kings glory days with the cow bells and all.. but it's still there.

I've had a Lakers license plate cover for the last few years living up here and I've get to get my car keyed. I guess they aren't true fans anymore in Sacramento.

You make a good point that a lot of people in Sac are transplants from other areas, as are we. It makes for lots of camaraderie at live games! I will concede that the people that I know who are still Kings fans are very loyal to the team, which I do respect. It's just the ones that have jumped ship that I don't like.

I have heard of people around here with Lakers gear on their car getting keyed. That sucks that it happened to you. There are definitely better ways to show loyalty to a team than vandalism.